Typical cell phone communication devices include address book applications that allow users to list and store their friends, family, and other acquaintances' contact information. The types of contact information stored include phone numbers, mailing addresses and email addresses. Some users are satisfied with the limited functionality of the address book as a helpful tool in today's communication devices because it allows callers to quickly view basic contact information of the person they wish to call.
While address books are common features in a cellular communication device, they provide only basic contact information. The information that is made available to the user does not inform the user if the callee is available or willing to accept a call. Users should be able to access the address book and view advanced contact information pertaining to the callee's status and availability within the address book to increase the caller's chances of reaching the callee when a call is placed to that particular callee. There are situations when a user may need to contact a callee immediately and simply having access to their name, telephone number and/or email address just would not be enough to guarantee that a call will be established between them.
Additionally, there are times when cell phone users enter dead zones or low coverage areas. In these cases, if a person is attempting to call them, the call is usually routed directly to the callee's answering service. It may be unreasonable for the caller to frequently call the callee back based on a series of random guesses of when the callee might be available to receive a call.
Thus, there is a need for a communication device to provide more advanced contact and availability information within the address book in order to better inform a caller of a callee's status. There is also a need for a communication device to automatically monitor and initiate a call to a previously unavailable callee when that person becomes available.